Final Fantasy VII Gaiden: Tifa
by SleepinEyes
Summary: A new story set over five years the event of the main game, featuring Tifa Lockhart in a quest to save the world of their main enemy: its own people.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1 – CONTINUE?

_Notes: I have played every Final Fantasy VII games released in the west and watched all OVAs and movies. I will ignore the Dirge of Cerberus story line for this fan fic tough, as, lets agree with this, that game is stupid. I might use some stuff from there tough. Also, I probably will not use anything canon but that makes no sense here._

The snow was falling gently that day, and the sun made it spark. It was still cold, and Tifa crossed her arms around her chest. She looked at the light rays penetrating the fissures and opening of the now abandoned Shinra building. She was surprised that five whole years have passed since Meteor, and three after the last incident. The building showed that humans having being there for too much a long time, making her wonder why she was still there.

Midgard was empty now. The second incident with Sephiroth was more than enough to its last inhabitants to leave. She shivered at the thought of that man that caused so much pain to everyone. But he was gone forever now. At least it was what she wanted to believe. Tifa stayed behind in Midgard to look over the last people living there, somehow, and also to keep herself busy. Cloud took the orphans they rescued to Kalm and was taking care of them there.

She smiled. Everyone was working for a better world. Rufus Shinra created the World Regenesis Organization and used whatever was left of Shinra's resource to help rebuild cities, the ecosystem, research energy sources that didn't damage the world like mako energy did. In fact, since all mako reactors were shut down, even the lands around Midgard, which were barren before, were now covered in green, at least in hotter days.

Tifa was woken up from her thoughts when she bumped in the man walking ahead of her. She looked at him again. The man was tall, and was wearing military gear. The armor was similar to those used by Shinra soldiers, but it was all black with faded red details. The helmet was different too, covering his whole face, and yet he wore a dark red scarf, a bit damaged that made her remember of Vincent. He had a backpack and a big gun, a sniper rifle strapped in his back. An assault rifle on his hand and a revolver attached to his left leg armor. He turned around, the faceless helmet reflecting Tifa's face hidden in the coat.

'Why we stopped?' she asked, a bit annoyed.

'Heard a weird sound. But then again this place is full of weirdness' he answered, looking back and around, 'And I hope it is just the place falling apart.'

The man was a former Shinra Special Forces operative, or so Elena told Tifa when they contacted her. She told her that he was part of an elite, secret squad that was tasked with getting rid of Shinra enemies but put the blame over others. They had no official uniform or designation, so Shinra simple refereed to them as the Unit.

As they started walking again, Tifa start to regret accepting this job. She finally closed her bar and was going back to her hometown of Nibelheim. The city was prospering again, with thermal energy providing space for new industries. Her plans were changed when a weird man attacked her in the door of the bar, and after she easily defeated him, she discovered he was on the run from her now partner, Zero, or at least it was how Elena referred to him. He became a bounty hunter after Shinra closed its operations and become WRO, and was after the man that day due to him exploding a solar energy facility.

'Are we far?' she asked, showing a bit of her displeasure.

'Hope not. I hate this place as much as you', he answered, in his calm, slight cheerful but tired voice, 'let's just hope this place don't fall upon or down usCRAP!'

Tifa barely had time to grab him by his backpack and push him up as the floor collapsed under his weight. She pushed him up as he used the lantern in his gun to inspect the hole, showing how deep he would had fall if she wasn't there. He opened the helmet using a mechanism in his backpack, which held the helmet in his back. The short, light brown hair was messy, but Zero looked calm as he turned around, showing his face covered in a stub beard, his clear brown eyes showing displeasure and a constant tired look.

'Well, now I am really glad you were watching my back', he said with a faint smile.

She looked at him and wondered what kind of man he was. It was clear he lacked motivation to do anything, but yet he kept going. Maybe that is why Elena asked her to go together with him. Elena assumed WRO Security branch, helping local governments to deal with the high rate of crimes that the fall of Shinra's world power left, as well as the fact that too many people were employed directly and indirectly by them. But that also mean they were severely shorthanded, and bounty hunters like Zero were needed.

'Are we sure Hojo's secret lab is around here?' she finally asked looking around the abandoned building.

'One of them, yes. Hojo was one freaky bastard, and he had too much secrets he kept even from Shinra's president' Zero answered, wearing his helmet again and showing a card key to Tifa. 'This is definitely a key for this building, but it is unmarked. That man… map? Pointed to somewhere in the new… well, newer wards close to Sector 5.'

Hojo.

Tifa once again hugged herself and shivered, but not of the cold weather. Hojo was, in the end, the reason of every evil that happened in the last five years. He created Sephiroth, he was responsible by Vincent's tragedy and by Cloud's suffering. Hojo was responsible by Nibelhein tragedy.

They started walking again, in silence, going deeper inside the building. In some places, nature was reclaiming the place, with plants growing in the parts protected from the cold and wind. Tifa wondered how the building and the city would look in the years to come, but the sound of metal falling made her jump in a combat posture. A rat passed by them.

'I really hate this place' said Zero, before opening a door.

'It is a utility closet', she commented, looking around.

'Utility closets with huge energy pipes coming in', he answered pointing up.

The closet was empty when they opened the door, and Zero found a slot in the opposite wall, where he put the keycard, that opened an elevator shaft. At first they thought the elevator would not work, but it powered up, one light flickering giving it an eerie look. Zero sighed and entered, the elevator having only one button.

'Are we sure we want to go down there?' asked Tifa.

'I don't like the idea of leaving whatever horror Hojo might have created unattended' Zero answered, Tifa realizing he might have something personal there, 'He might have put some form of alternate energy supply to keep this lab running.'

Zero verified his gun, and both of them entered the elevator. Tifa pressed the button, and the shaft start slowly descending. The soldier kneeled and pointed his gun to the door, as Tifa finally removed her coat. Her hair was now shoulder length, a way for her to define her new beginning, and she wore a leather top that covered her shoulders but not her arms, with combat gloves in each hand. She was wearing a pair of shorts with a skirt over it, and long boots.

'OK, now I am ready', she said after tightening her gloves.

'Hope we have nothing to punch tough' Zero answered, as the door opened again.

The lab was not as big as the main lab in the top of the tower, but it was as scary if not more. Everything looked improvised, and the dim green light made it even scarier. The machines were working; tough they had no idea if they were working as supposed. There were specimens inside test tubes, which just made the ambient depressing. At least, no human subjects for what they could see.

Zero moved slowly and carefully, his lantern revealing the details of the lab. Many computer screens with information they could not understand, and many tubes and chemicals in work tables. Tifa and Zero kept distance of anything they didn't knew, and sometimes even of thing they knew. Zero came to what looked to be the mainframe computer of the lab and input some commands to it, which made a sound and the monitor start to flicker.

'What you done?' questioned Tifa, looking cautiously to the computer.

'Data backup. I am uploading every byte of information to a portable hard drive, so we can let WRO technicians figure what Hojo did here' he answered, relaxing a bit.

'What if it started some security measures?'

'I heard you can punch a two ton robot to oblivion, so I am counting with you'.

'I can punch you too', she answered, and both left a laugh escape.

In that moment a panel in the back of the room opened, letting some cold fog out, scaring them. The room there was bright, different from the rest of the lab, and in the center was a metal structure that remembered them a coffin, but with several tubes and machines attached. Tifa looked at it and the first thought that crossed her head scared her to the point of her making a step back. Zero, on the other hand approached it cautiously, gun in hand. After going around it, he stood there, looking at it with some interest.

'Don't dare to touch it!' Tifa said aloud to him.

'Not thinking of it, but this… structure? It seems to be fully independent of the lab, there is even a Materia powering it. In fact, there is another Materia powering the lab behind it.'

Materia. The crystallized mako energy that allowed people to use magic. Tifa knew it could be used to power machines, as many encounters with Shinra's robot proved a source of Materia orbs. But she was more interested in whatever was inside the metallic coffin, as there were no marking on it. She turned around when several beeps were heard. The backup was ready.

'I think we found what we wanted, let's get out of here. WRO can work out what is inside this thing later', Zero said grabbing the metallic case containing the backup disk.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – New Old Friends

'Tifa, I know you are angry and I understand, but I really don't know what Hojo was making in that lab. Nobody here in WRO knows, even some of his former assistants' Elena said in a calm tone over the phone. Tifa kept walking nervously side to side.

'How you guys can't know?' she complained in a loud voice.

'Hojo always was a sneaky rat, always had secret projects around and diverting resources to them. Even President Shinra, Rufus father, had no clue about everything Hojo did' Elena explained calmly. Tifa sighed, 'Tifa, I know it is frustrating, but we will give you all the help we can.'

Tifa looked at her bar, now closed. She planned to at least give it a farewell party, inviting the old friends over. Now she was leaving in a hurry, going after a mysterious group that might being holding some terrifying experiment of a crazy scientist. Zero was loading his car with her things, as he agreed to help her keeping track of whoever took the coffin.

Tifa of course could just have left it to WRO to solve, but somehow she couldn't let something as dangerous as a Hojo experience goes around. In the end she even offered to be the one in pursuit of them. To her surprise Zero said he would tag along as long as he was needed.

'And how about sending some WRO operatives to take care of this?' Tifa asked Elena.

'I wish I could, but there are… difficulties…'

'Difficulties? What kind of Difficulties?'

'Well… For starter, all of WRO security staff is busy trying to keep peace and order around. Most cities don't have a police force yet, and too many bandits roaming around. We don't have many people to spare.'

'What about hiring some bounty hunters?'

'No. Definitely not. Look, WRO is only now being able to conquer people's trust. If news that one of Hojo's, one of Shinra's experiments are at hands of an unknown group, not only people would panic, they would turn against WRO, putting all of our efforts to rebuild our planet at risk', Elena explained, making Tifa angry.

'And yet you keep doing things like Shinra would.'

'That is not fair Tifa, tough not exactly wrong. Tifa, public trust is more important than ever for us now. It doesn't mean we won't do anything. I am sending an operative to meet you at Junon, one of our bests. Our weather station there has a broadband connection that can upload the data you and Zero retrieved, so our tech people can analyze it' Elena said, and Tifa finally calmed down. The former Turk had a point. People were just now starting to forget the Crisis, and they could go on without another so soon.

'Who are you sending? Please don't tell me is Reno…'

'No, it is someone easier to deal with. Maybe you can call some of your friends too?' Elena asked, but Tifa didn't want to involve any of them. They finally started their own lives again, and pushing them back to that life would be unfair.

'No, Zero already said he will come with me' she answered, looking as Zero finished loading the car, and he looked at the bright sun that was up in the sky that day.

'Zero said that? That is surprising' commented Elena.

'Really?' wondered Tifa, realizing she had no idea who Zero was and what kind of person he is.

'Zero is very professional, mind you, but he usually doesn't do anything without payment down the line. But if he is in disposition to help, better. Look, I have to go now, so be careful and keep me updated' Elena said hanging up.

Tifa closed the phone and looked at Zero. All she knew about him is that he was a former Shinra soldier. She wondered why he offered his help. It was clear he didn't have any love for Hojo, but she never knew someone that had. She gave a last look at her bar and slowly walked to the car. She could only hope that whatever was inside the stolen coffin, it wasn't what she feared.

'They won't send help, am I right?' Zero asked as he entered the car.

'Elena will send someone to meet us at Junon' Tifa answered as she sat in the driver's seat.

'Please tell me it is not Reno…' he said as he sat in the passenger's seat. Tifa chuckled a bit.

'No, not Reno. Do you think those people came from Cosmo Canyon?'

'I don't know' he answered as Tifa put the car in movement.

'Why are you helping me?' She asked straight away, and Zero smile as he reclined his seat.

'I met Hojo twice. One was when my team had to capture one of his failed experiments. The thing killed seven people before we were able to kill it. He was concerned more about the loss of his 'specimen' than with the damage it did. And he laughed when people complained to him. 'Science can't be made if you only play safe' the freak answered. The second time was when Sephiroth returned, that first time five years ago. We were tasked with… well, getting rid of anyone using the confusion to… 'Interfere in Shinra's businesses, as Scarlet put', Tifa caressed her cheek when Scarlet was mentioned, tough Zero didn't noticed, 'He was talking to himself how his biggest experiment would change the world. And we all know what happened. I lost almost all of my former team that year.'

Tifa looked at Zero for a bit. Despite the tale he told her, it all seemed not personal, even the loss of his team mates didn't seemed to bother him as much as she expected, and yet there he was, helping her. She didn't know why, but somehow she pitied him, and didn't felt like he had any hidden intentions. But she still was curious to know why he was willing to help.

'There is no bounty this time', she commented.

'Money… well, we all need money, but money has little value when in face of danger. I don't think what is inside that tube is as dangerous as Sephiroth was, but a good night of sleep is worth more than a few gil.'

Tifa was going to ask more, but she noticed he had slept. She wondered if they would be able to sleep so easily in the future.

…

The Junon they were headed was actually a new city. The old was completely destroyed during the events of five years prior, so they rebuild the city nearby. A busy port town now, full of industries, most people living there now was former Midgard residents. There was fog in that morning as Tifa and Zero arrived, a chilly wind flowing from the sea. They were supposed to meet their WRO operative at noon, near the weather station, so Zero left the disk with the WRO staff and wanted to investigate the port. After all, if the people that invaded Shinra's old building were from Cosmo Canyon, the port was their logical destination.

Tifa parked near the docks, and they walked to the port administration. No ships had left the port in the last days due to the bad weather, but five different ships would ship that day. Zero decided to walk around and talk with the sailors, while Tifa decided to look from an upper deck nearby. The sun became strong that day and made she smiled as the fog lifted the blue sea calm and clean as she saw dolphins swimming and seabirds calling. The new Junon was radically different from the old one, a very pleasant city now.

It was then that she saw a man walking along the docks, in the direction of the warehouses. He was wearing Cosmo Canyon typical outfits, but red and green like the ones used by the people that attacked them in Midgard, except those weren't robes. She jumped of the deck down the streets, and started following the man.

The man walked slowly and looking around, forcing Tifa to hide behind dumpsters and working trucks around the warehouses. She smiled to herself, as she got lucky enough to find the man, and she hoped she could retrieve Hojo's experiment there. The man entered an unmarked warehouse, so Tifa was forced to find a way out. An open window on the side of the building was what she needed, and with a few jumps she reached it and entered.

Inside, she saw the truck they used in Midgard, and some people coming in and out of it, all wearing the same type of outfit. None were carrying guns, but they had weapons like staffs and axes. Twelve people inside, so Tifa jumped into action, landing over two of the men and knocking them unconscious before the others could react.

She attacked the others before they could react. Her martial arts prowess combined with her own Materia made it easy for Tifa to dispatch the group before they could fight back, but as soon as she took care of them, the truck shook, and from inside a robot came, like a spider with chainsaws in the front four legs. Its ugly 'head', with eight blue lights serving as its eyes, her silver metallic body covered in weird drawings. It moved incredible fast and attacked Tifa, which had to dodge it.

Tifa realized she was in a pinch, as the chainsaw spider moved too fast for her to flank, and the chainsaws made a front attack impossible. Then the spider sprayed her with some type of sticky liquid that solidified in a resistant web, trapping her. The chainsaw spider moved towards Tifa, as she struggled trying to get lose. The chainsaw spider was ready to attack her.

Then a flying object hit the chainsaw arm cutting it off, the chainsaw just falling close to Tifa. As she looked, she expected to see Yuffie there, but it was a girl with reddish brown hair, the back in a pony tail and the front in wavy bangs. She was wearing an outfit that Tifa knew very well. A Turk outfit.

'You are lucky that I came right now' she said with a calm voice and a caring smile.

The spider targeted the intruder, and Tifa was able to use this opportunity to cut the web with the now turned off chainsaw the Turk cut from the spider that was lying close to her. The Turk was very agile and her throwing weapon allowed her to attack without getting too close to the danger. Tifa then grabbed the spider leg and halted its movement. The spider tried to move, but Tifa had a firm grip on it.

'We aren't finished yet!' she yelled.

Tifa used her strength to spin the mechanical spider a few times before launching it against a wall; a loud bell like sound was heard. Before it could recover, Tifa punched it in its belly, making a hole. The robot moved spastic a few times before shutting down, defeated. Tifa finally was able to catch her breath before the Turk girl came to talk with her. The girl didn't look older than twenty, which surprised Tifa.

'You know, that was pretty risky of your part, invading here alone' said the girl with a smile. Her eyes were the same color as Zero's, and Tifa wondered if they were related. 'I am Cissnei, by the way. Elena sent me to help.'

'I am Tifa, and thank you. I owe you one.'

'Where's your partner?' Cissnei asked casually.

'Partner? Oh, Zero… He was questioning some sailors in the port…' the way she talked about him caught Tifa's attention. It was clear Cissnei didn't see him in good terms.

'He knows the job, so better stick with him next…' the truck shook again, and a big woman came out, wearing the same outfits as the other guys. She had long black hair and white skin, and Tifa and Cissnei concluded she was from Wutai. She carried a hammer attached to her belt. '…time…'

Despite her big size, the women moved incredible fast, knocking Cissnei and grabbing Tifa before they could react. The women hand was in Tifa's neck, pressing with abnormal strength, and the other hand reached for the hammer. Tifa started kicking the women, but she seemed unfazed at them. With her hammer over her head, she spoke.

'You will not get in the way of the True Children. You will not get in the way of the Return.'

As soon as she finished speaking, her hammer broke and a gunshot sound was heard, filling the warehouse. Zero arrived and was aiming his sniper rifle to the mysterious women. She, unfazed, threw the broken hammer handle at him, forcing him to dodge. Tifa used the opportunity to land a hook into the woman's chin, and she fell back, letting it go and allowing Tifa to breath.

The woman was now surrounded by Cissnei, Tifa and Zero. She looked at them calmly, without making any movement. It was then that Tifa saw a white robbed woman at the warehouse overpass, walking like a ghost, some kind of eerie light involving her. Before she could react, a blinding light engulfed them, and when they were able to see again, no one was there except the truck and the damaged spider robot.

'Oh, just perfect' lamented Zero, 'I bet the truck is also empty.'

'Empty it is' said Cissnei verifying the back of the truck.

'Shouldn't we be chasing them?' questioned Tifa.

'No point. The port workers told me they came before the sunrise and shipped our target in a small private ship early today, without registering with the administration' Zero explained, putting his rifle in his back and going to check the robot.

'Any clue on who are they?' asked Cissnei.

'Nice to see you again too, Cissnei,' he answered as he checked the robot, no special tone in his voice, 'they said they are some type of… cult? They called themselves… how it was again… True Children of the Cetra?'

Tifa gasped for a bit. Cetra. The Ancients that lived in the planet before, wiped by Jenova, the Calamity from the Skies, and that last member was Aerith, her lost friend that sacrificed her own life to save the planet. Tifa looked in surprise, wondering what those people wanted with a Hojo's experiment. Zero looked at her, in his hand a red Materia.

'It was powering the robot, same tech as the lab. The spider remembers me of Scarlet handwork. But those guys aren't Shinra', he said. Cissnei commented.

'I heard of this cult before. They say that the world should return to the way the Cetra lived, and that they are descendents of them, despite all evidence suggesting they are just like anyone else.'

'Hmm… I think we can ask Elena, someone that worked both with Hojo and Scarlet is working with those guys. It might as well tell what this secret pet project Hojo was working is', Zero added.

'So, a cult about Ancients is working with a former Shinra mad scientist? That is a recipe for a disaster…' Tifa said, walking to the door, 'Why can't we have some peace…'

She walked to the docks, standing looking at the sea. She looked at her contacts, Cloud's number was there. She then put the phone down. Even after five years, even after the fight of three years ago, she knew Cloud still loved Aerith. She wondered how he would react with all this, but decided to not call. It would be unfair to Cloud to push him back, especially now that she was finally able to understand that Cloud and she were never going to be really together.

'Zero said that what is in that coffin might not be what we think', the voice of Cissnei taking Tifa off of her thoughts.

'What? How he can know?'

'He doesn't show much, but he is actually very smart. Super detective like smart', she said, but Tifa didn't know how much she was serious or joking by her tone, 'He found a paper with instructions in the truck, whatever is inside that tube, it was described as 'delicate, important but not dangerous'. It doesn't mean the people that took it aren't tough.'

'I just hope that disk show us what it is', answered Tifa.

'I already send it to the HQ. It is encrypted tough, so it may take some days before they access it. Zero said we should go to Cosmo Canyon gather info about these True Children.'

'You two know each other?' Tifa asked, trying to get her head out of her thoughts.

'Zero? We worked together sometimes, when we were in Shinra and a few times after that. I… no, it is not important. Look, nobody wants to see a repetition of the Crisis. That is why WRO is on this case. But I think you are worrying too much about it. We have no idea what is happening and we are all assuming the worst', she said with a smile, which strangely comforted Tifa. She stretched and finally relaxed.

'So, to Cosmo Canyon then?' Tifa suggested.

'To Cosmo Canyon', Cissnei answered, 'but you know, you don't need to do this. You and your friends had done a lot already. Zero and I can take care of it'.

'I don't think I can. I fought five years ago, and I don't regret it. I don't want to regret it now.'

'I see. Zero told you why he is helping us?', Cissnei inquired, in a more serious tone.

'He isn't the talkative type.'

'Oh, here he comes', Cissnei said as Zero approached.

'Got us a ship, it is leaving in half an hour. The car is already loaded', he said.

'So, I think we won't have any trouble working together. I will go ahead', said Cissnei, walking away.

'What about you two?' Tifa asked.

'I think it is better for you to ask her. Cissnei and I… Well, Cissnei have her reasons to dislike me', he said, and Tifa could get a glimpse of regret in his voice, but decided to not ask any further.

'I think we will need to trust each other here.'

'Trust is not the problem. It is… approach? Cissnei and I… don't expect us to agree in lots of things.'

Tifa wondered about their past, tough Zero let more information out than she expected, and she looked at his face. He was clearly sad now, and she realized that he was human too, and maybe that was the reason he was always wearing armor. She grabbed his arm and forced him to walk.

'Well, we have a ship to catch', she finally said, as they walked to the ship.


End file.
